Method for Producing a Contact Face of a Head of a Golf Club

ABSTRACT

A method for producing a face plate of a golf club head includes preparing a plate material to be processed, with the plate material including a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; pressing and shaping the plate material at least one time by using at least one mold, forming an uneven thickness structure on the first surface of the plate material; and milling the second surface obtained from shaping to form a striking face, obtaining a face plate for a golf club head. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head includes forming the uneven thickness structure on the first surface of the face plate and then milling and modifying the second surface of the face plate, significantly reducing the waste material of the plate material to be milled and removed. The cutter wear rate of the milling machine is reduced, and the processing time is shortened, saving production costs and increasing yield.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method for producing components of a golf club head and, more particularly, to a method for producing a face plate of a golf club head.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, the face plate of a golf club head has uneven thickness structure on an inner side thereof to increase the sweet area, enhancing the striking performance of the golf club head. The uneven thickness outline on the inner side of the face plate of a golf club head is generally obtained by using a CNC processing machine to read an electronic drawing file and using various cutters to proceed with 3D cutting.

However, due to limitation to the cutters, slight difference still exists between the outline of the product and the 3D drawing file of the original design. Furthermore, sharp edges generated by the cutters during the processing procedures adversely affect the strength of the face plate. Further, a large amount of waste material is generated by direct milling of the plate material, leading to a waste in the material and a high wear rate of the cutters. The processing time is long (it takes about 8 minutes to finish shaping processing of a face plate), failing to increase the yield. Most manufacturers increase the yield by increasing the number of CNC processing machines, which occupies the space of the factory in addition to the increased costs for purchasing and maintaining the CNC processing machines.

Taiwan Patent No. 1270421 entitled “CONSTANT-TEMPERATURE FORGING METHOD FOR GOLF CLUB HEAD” discloses a method for forming a face plate by forging. A sheet material is punched to obtain a contour close to the predetermined contour. The sheet material and a shaping mold are heated and then passed through a hydraulic forging machine. The heated sheet material in the shaping mold is forged by the hydraulic provision. Lastly, the sheet material is passed through a processing machine, such as a lathe, to mill the contour of the outer edge of the sheet material to the desired outline, and surface treatment of sand blasting is carried out. By using the constant-temperature forging method, the size thickness of the sheet material can be easily controlled, reducing the waste material after forging and increasing the production efficiency by saving extra processing procedures (such as surface grinding) required due to difficulties in controlling the size.

However, the contour of the face plate for a golf club head produced by the method using forging formation is merely trimmed at the outer edge of the workpiece while passing through the processing machine, not the entire surface of the workpiece. Thus, this method is more suitable to production of general face plates. If the method is used to manufacture a face plate with uneven thickness structure on an inner side thereof, the other side opposite to the uneven thickness structure (i.e., the surface of the striking face) will become rugged after forging. This method does not teach how to trim the surface of the striking face. Thus, this method is not suitable to production of face plates with uneven thickness structure on an inner side thereof.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a face plate of a golf club head, wherein uneven thickness structure is firstly formed on a surface of a face plate, and the other surface of the face plate is then milled, saving the production costs and increasing the yield.

To fulfill the above objective, a method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention includes a preparation step including preparing a plate material to be processed, with the plate material including a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface; a shaping step including pressing and shaping the plate material obtained from the preparation step at least one time by using at least one mold, forming uneven thickness structure on the first surface of the plate material; and a milling modification step including milling the second surface obtained from the shaping step to form a striking face, obtaining a face plate for a golf club head.

In the method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention, the shaping step includes a rough mold shaping step and a precision mold shaping step, a mold with a simple curved face is used in the rough mold shaping step, a mold with a more precisely curved face is used in the precision mold shaping step.

In the method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention, a formation step is carried out on the plate material after the milling modification step, the plate material is shaped by a mold with a curvature to obtain the striking face with an arcuate shape. Furthermore, the striking face has a radius of curvature of 160 mm-600 mm.

In the method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention, the surface cleaning step is carried on the plate material after the formation step, sand blasting is carried out on the surface of the plate material to remove oxides and/or impurities from the surface of the plate material.

In the method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention, an anti-oxidation layer is formed on each surface of the plate material before pressing and shaping the plate material in the shaping step.

In the method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention, an anti-oxidation layer is formed on each surface of the plate material before shaping the plate material in the formation step.

The advantageous effects of the present invention are that the method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention includes forming the uneven thickness structure on the first surface of the face plate and then milling and modifying the second surface of the face plate, significantly reducing the waste material of the plate material to be milled and removed. The cutter wear rate of the milling machine is reduced, and the processing time is shortened, saving the production costs and increasing the yield.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for forming a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 a is a cross sectional view illustrating a first procedure for producing the face plate of the golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 b is a cross sectional view illustrating a second procedure for producing the face plate of the golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 c is a cross sectional view illustrating a third procedure for producing the face plate of the golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 d is a cross sectional view illustrating a fourth procedure for producing the face plate of the golf club head according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 e is a cross sectional view illustrating a fifth procedure for producing the face plate of the golf club head according to the present invention.

wherein:

 1 plate material 11 first surface 12 second surface 13 uneven thickness structure 14 striking face S1 preparation step S2 shaping step S21 rough mold shaping step S22 precision mold shaping mold S3 milling modification step S4 post treatment step S41 formation step S42 surface cleaning step

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The above and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become clearer in light of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the present invention described in connection with the accompanying drawings.

With reference to FIG. 1, a method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention includes a preparation step S1, a shaping step S2, and a milling modification step S3. In the shaping step S2, a surface of a plate material obtained from the preparation step S1 is pressed to form uneven thickness structure by using a mold. In the milling modification step S3, milling modification is carried out on the other surface of the plate material to form a face plate with the uneven thickness structure.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 a, a plate material 1 to be processed is prepared in the preparation step S1 of the present invention. Specifically, in this embodiment, a raw plate is cut by a cutting machine (such as a laser cutting machine) into a plurality of plate materials 1 each having an outline close to that of the product for use in subsequent processing steps.

The plate material 1 includes a first surface 11 and a second surface 12 opposite to the first surface 11. The plate material is preferably made of a metal material having high elastic deforming properties or high shock absorbing properties, such as carbon steel, stainless steel (such as 17-4PH stainless steel), alloy steel, nickel-based alloy, cast iron, supper alloy steel, Fe—Mn—Al alloy, titanic alloy, copper alloy, magnesium alloy, or a combination thereof.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 b, in the shaping step S2 of the present invention, the plate material 1 obtained from the preparation material S1 is placed in a mold and undergoes at least one pressing or forging procedure to obtain a plate material 1 with uneven thickness structure 13. Forging is used in this embodiment, and the shaping step S2 includes a rough mold shaping step S21 and a precision mold shaping step S22.

In the rough mold shaping step S21, a mold with a simple curved face is used to shape the plate material 1. Specifically, the plate material 1 and the mold with the simple curved face are heated, and the plate material 1 is placed into the mold. The mold presses and shapes the plate material 1 to obtain a plate material 1 with a curved shape, with the first surface 1 of the plate material 1 initially shaped to form the uneven thickness structure 13. The heating temperatures of the plate material 1 and the mold vary according to the material of the plate material 1, which can be appreciated by a person having ordinary skill in the art. Preferably, the heating temperatures are not higher than a crystallization temperature of the plate material 1.

Furthermore, before heating and shaping the plate material 1, an anti-oxidation layer can be optionally formed on a surface of the plate material 1 according to the material properties of the plate material 1, reducing generation of oxides during heating and shaping of the plate material 1. For example, if the plate material 1 is a metal (such as titanium) that oxidizes easily, the anti-oxidation layer is preferably formed on the surface of the plate material 1. On the other hand, if the plate material 1 is a metal that does not oxidize easily (such as steel), it is not necessary to form the anti-oxidation layer on the surface of the plate material 1. In this embodiment, an anti-oxidation agent can be optionally sprayed on the surface of each plate material 1, and the anti-oxidation layer is formed after the anti-oxidation agent is dried.

Likewise, if the plate material 1 is an easy-to-oxidize metal, before the precision mold shaping step S22 is carried out on the plate material 1, an anti-oxidation layer is preferably applied on the surface of the plate material 1 obtained from the rough mold shaping step S1, such that the deformed section of the plate material 1 also possesses an anti-oxidation effect. On the other hand, if the plate material 1 is a metal that does not oxidize easily, it is not necessary to form the anti-oxidation layer on the surface of the plate material 1 obtained from the rough mold shaping step S21.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 c, in the precision mold shaping step S2, a mold with a more precisely curved face is used to shape the plate material 1. Specifically, since the temperature of the plate material 1 obtained from the rough mold shaping step S1 drops (even to the room temperature) while moving on the production line, the plate material 1 and the mold with the more precisely curved face are preheated while carrying out the precision mold shaping step S22. Likewise, the heating temperature is preferably not higher than the crystallization temperature of the plate material 1. Then, the plate material 1 is placed into the mold. The plate material 1 with uneven thickness structure 3 is obtained through pressing and shaping on the plate material 1 by using the mold. At this time, the uneven thickness structure 13 on the first surface 11 of the plate material 1 is the same as the predetermined shape.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 d, in the milling modification step S3, the second surface 12 of the plate material 1 is milled and modified by a tool machine to form a striking face 14. In this embodiment, after the temperature of the plate material 1 obtained from the precision mold shaping step S22 drops to an appropriate temperature (such as the room temperature), a computer numerical controlled milling machine is used and an appropriate cutter is selected to mill the second surface 12 of the plate material 1 into the striking face 14.

Since the present invention uses the shaping step S2 to directly provide the plate material 1 with the uneven thickness structure 13 and rapidly milling the striking face 14 of the plate material 1 through the milling modification step S3, the waste material of the plate material 1 is significantly reduced in the present invention, saving the material costs while reducing the burden to the milling machine and reducing the wear rate of the cutter. Furthermore, 3D milling can be replaced with 2D milling to reduce the processing time (only 3 minutes is required to finish shaping processing of a face plate) and costs, effectively increasing the yield.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 e, after the milling modification step S3, a post treatment step S4 can be carried out on the plate material 1 to modify the plate material 1, obtaining a face plate product with excellent quality for a golf club head. Specifically, the post treatment step S4 includes a formation step S41 and a surface cleaning step S42.

In the formation step S41, the striking face 14 of the plate material 1 is shaped by a mold with a curvature, providing the striking face 14 with a suitable curvature for coupling with a golf club head. In this embodiment, the plate material 1 obtained from the milling modification step S3 and the mold with the curvature are heated, and the plate material 1 is placed into the mold.

The striking face 14 presents an arcuate shape after formation on the striking face 14 of the plate material 1 by the mold. The radius of curvature of the striking face 14 is preferably 160 mm-600 mm.

Since a portion of the second surface 12 of the plate material 1 is milled and removed in the milling modification step S3, the anti-oxidation layer on the portion is also removed. Thus, an anti-oxidation agent is preferably sprayed on the plate material 1 that is made of an easy-to-oxide metal before the formation step S41, such that the surface of the plate material 1 is evenly coated with a layer of anti-oxidation agent and, thus, possesses an anti-oxidation effect.

After the formation step S41, the surface cleaning step S42 can be carried out on the plate material 1 by sand blasting the surface of the plate material 1 with silica sand, aluminum oxide, iron sand, aluminum shot, or iron shot, removing the oxides and/or impurities from the surface of the plate material 1, accomplishing production of the face plate for a gold club head according to the present invention. If desired, the type number, letters, or trademarks can be formed on the surface (such as the striking face 14) of the plate material 1 by laser sculpture or the like, enhancing identification of the product.

In view of the foregoing, the method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to the present invention includes forming the uneven thickness structure on the first surface of the face plate and then milling and modifying the second surface of the face plate, significantly reducing the waste material of the plate material to be milled and removed. The cutter wear rate of the milling machine is reduced, and the processing time is shortened, saving the production costs and increasing the yield.

Although preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described and not intended for limiting purposes, numerous modifications and variations to the above embodiments are still possible to one skilled in the art without departing from the essence of the invention. The scope of the invention is limited by the accompanying claims. 

1. A method for producing a face plate of a golf club head comprising: preparing a plate material including a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface to be processed; pressing and shaping the plate material at least one time by using a mold; forming uneven thickness structure on the first surface of the plate material; and milling the second surface to form a striking face and a face plate for a golf club head.
 2. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 1, wherein pressing and shaping the plate material comprises: pressing and shaping the plate material by using the mold with a simple curved face; and pressing and shaping the plate material by using another mold with a more precisely curved face.
 3. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 1 further comprising shaping the plate material by a further mold with a curvature and shaping the striking face to an arcuate shape, after milling the second surface.
 4. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 3, further comprising cleaning the first and second surfaces of the plate material by sand-blasting on the first and second surfaces of the plate material and removing oxides and/or impurities from the first and second surfaces of the plate material.
 5. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 3, wherein shaping the striking face to the arcuate shape comprises shaping the striking face with a radius of curvature of 160 mm-600 mm.
 6. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 1 further comprising forming an anti-oxidation layer on each surface of the plate material before pressing and shaping the plate material.
 7. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 3, further comprising forming an anti-oxidation layer on each surface of the plate material before shaping the plate material.
 8. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 3, wherein shaping the striking face comprises shaping the striking face with a radius of curvature of 160 mm-600 mm.
 9. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 3, wherein shaping the plate material by the further mold with the curvature comprises: pre-molding the further mold with a curvature having a radius of curvature of 160 mm-600 mm; and shaping the plate material by the further mold with the curvature having the radius of curvature of 160 mm-600 mm.
 10. The method for producing a face plate of a golf club head according to claim 3, wherein shaping the plate material by the further mold comprises shaping the plate with the further mold with the curvature of a radius of curvature of 160 mm-600 mm. 